An escalating wave of violence struck Pakistan over the past eleven days is a hint of what I believe we will be seeing over the next few years as Uranus and Pluto begin to align in square formation.  This kind of insurgency is gaining a foothold not only in Afghanistan and Iraq, but in Somalia, Pakistan, the Congo, Thailand and, according to Russian news reports, spilling over into central Asia such as Tajikistan.  I’ll be writing more about this later, but when Uranus moves into Aries next June the revolutionary (Uranus) rage (Aries) will become even stronger and will result in more extreme measures to contain it (Pluto).

Pakistan has an intense astrological chart, with five planets in Leo and Mars sitting right at the Midheaven of the chart.  (There are several charts for Pakistan.  Pakistan’s legal independence became official at midnight on August 15, 1947, but it is generally celebrated on August 14th.  However, the oath of office to the first Governor General at 9:30 am, making the new government official.  We typically use the signing of a constitutional document as the birth time, but in the case of Pakistan a Constitution was not signed until 1956.  The independent government of Pakistan therefore began when the oath of office was administered to the new head of that government, August 14, 1947 at 9:30 am.)

I first wrote about Pakistan two years ago when Benazir Bhutto was killed as transiting Pluto formed an exact square to the ascendant and midheaven of the Pakistan chart.  At the time, I wrote “This is just the beginning of the crisis in Pakistan that is likely to begin a series of events that will lead us towards the Uranus/Pluto square of 2010-2013.”   Transiting Pluto has been opposite Mars in the chart of Pakistan since January of 2008, and that influence, which coincided with the forced resignation of military leader (Mars) Pervez Musharraf,  is just now winding down.  

Uranus has had a role to play in the revolutionary fervor in Pakistan, since transiting Uranus began a challenging square formation to Uranus in the Pakistan chart in May of 2009.  Experts reported that May was the most violent month in Pakistan in five years as Uranus, the planet of revolution and radical change, became activated in the nation’s chart.  The second phase of that cycle came in late August/early September of 2009, but at the time transiting Saturn (restriction and control) was also squaring Uranus which seems to have helped to keep the lid on the growing insurgency.  

Saturn and Uranus will be dancing over the angles of the chart (the midheaven and ascendant) over the next year and we are likely to see some major changes in the structure of the government and the way Pakistan as a nation views itself.  The country is going through an identity crisis right now; formed as a Muslim state, the Islamist insurgency has broken off from the Muslim mainstream.  It is this kind of splintering of governments and nations and the resulting battles between them that I believe we will see more of as Uranus and Pluto begin their square in 2011 to 2013.  

Under Pluto change occurs where change is necessary, and with Pluto in Capricorn only corrupt and failing structures (Capricorn) have been destroyed.  Others, with stronger foundations, will survive and thrive.  This is a good time to look at our own lives to see where our foundations could be made stronger; where we can be more disciplined and more practical.